18 | Sunday Review BEST PRACTICE | The law states that acting heads serve no more than six months Unease grows as key officials serve in acting capacity The Central Bank, Capital Markets Authority and Kenya Wildlife Service among affected institutions BY WALTER MENYA @menyawalter wmenya@ke.nationmedia.com pacity in public service after some officials were asked to hold on to their positions for what appears to be an indefinite time pending substantive appointments . Most of the officials are in key Q offices whose functions have significant impact on the national development of the country like the Central Bank of Kenya. According to Union of Kenya Civil Servants chairman Noah Rotich, there are too many acting chief executives. “This is wrong and we wonder why the President or the appointees are not confirming these people,” he said. Mr Njuguna Ndung’u left the Central Bank at the end of March. Deputy Governor Haron Sirima has been acting. Dr Sirima’s attention has been divided between ensuring there is monetary and fiscal stability and seeking to take over from Prof Ndung’u. In the meantime, the shilling uestions are being raised over how long someone can serve in an acting ca- has been weakening against the world’s major currencies, and is currently trading at above Sh95 to the dollar from Sh90 in January. The Nairobi Securities Ex- change 20 Share Index that measures the performance of 20 blue-chip companies has also dropped from a peak of 5,500 in March to 5,070 on May 8. At the Capital Markets Author- ity, Mr Paul Murithi Muthaura has been the acting chief executive since Ms Stella Kilonzo left in 2011. Neither the former Finance minister Njeru Githae, who is now Kenya’s ambassador to the US, nor his successor at the National Treasury Henry Rotich have been able to appoint a substantive chief executive. At the Kenya Wildlife Service, Mr William Kiprono, has been acting since January 10, last year. A new law created the office of the director-general and abolished the position of director to which Mr Kiprono was appointed by President Mwai Kibaki. According to Public Service Commission chairperson Margaret Kobia, human resource best practice gives acting heads six months during which time the appointing authority should put a mechanism for competitive recruitment in place. “It is unacceptable to keep a chief executive acting longer than six months. It has negative impli- Mr Paul Muthaura, acting CEO Capital Markets Ms Lucy Ndung’u, acting Registrar of Political Parties SUNDAY NATION May 10, 2015 Mr Yusuf Mbuno, acting CEO, CDF board. This is wrong and as a union we wonder why the President is not confirming these people,” Civil Servants Union boss Noah Rotich cations to the individual acting and performance of the organi- Mr Haron Sirima, acting CBK governor sation. Now that the parastatals are getting boards (of directors), I hope they will prioritise hiring of chief executives who are acting,” Prof Kobia said. The Public Service Commis- sion, she added, has authority over parastatals as far as good governance is concerned. According to Mr Rotich, it is evident that people acting may shy away from making certain decisions “for fear of victimisation” which in the end becomes counter-productive. The Law Society of Kenya in January raised raised the alarm bells about chief executives who are perpetually acting. “You are either appointed substantively to the office or the appointing authority needs to fill the position,” secretary Apollo Mboya told the Sunday Nation. Other institutions are Kenya Universities and Colleges Central Placement Services, where Deputy Public Service Commission Monica Ng’ang’a is still acting, the Rural Electrification Authority where Mr Ng’ang’a Munyu is acting, Constituency Development Fund Board where Yusuf Mbuno acts. Ms Lucy Ndung’u has also been the acting Registrar of Political Parties for four years. Uhuru visits Bomet amid growing opposition against DP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 President,” said Dr Oloo. But he does not think the visit will achieve much to calm Mr Ruto’s critics because “Rift Valley voted for Mr Kenyatta only because the URP leader was his running mate”. “The Kalenjin support for Mr Kenyatta was not direct. Maybe it will only help the DP to say that the President is still with him,” he added. However, Elgeyo Mar- akwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, a close ally of the DP, said the visit had nothing to do with dissent. In fact, he brushed off the growing disgruntlement in the Rift Valley as a “creation of the media and the Opposition”. “We are aware that some people are working day and night to portray the DP as an unworthy deputy and not a good political ally of President Kenyatta. They are using governors Ruto and Chepkwony to achieve this,” said Mr Murkomen. The resurgence and reinven- tion of Kanu is another thorn in the flesh of the DP. Mr Salat was upbeat about the party’s fortunes, describing them as “something good and big things coming”. “Those people whose roots do not run deep as Kanu’s are deeply rattled by our plans to reinvent ourselves,” he said. The DP will be seeking to convince the people that he still has the support of the President and that as Mr Kenyatta’s case was dismissed so will his be eventually. It is instructive that Mr Ruto last month tried to make political capital out of the case, saying Mr Ruto, Mr Moi and presidential adviser Joshua Kutuny were praying for his conviction so they could inherit his political constituency, a charge which the leaders dismissed. But Dr Oloo argues that the community is already preparing its sons for the top job in case the Hague-based court complicates Mr Ruto’s politics. “The people want a ready heir to carry the Kalenjin mantle and the thought is that the person should be groomed now and not later. That is exactly what Kanu is doing with Senator Moi,” argued Dr Oloo. Outspoken Segemik Parish priest Fr Ambrose Kimutai accused the DP of trying to milk his ICC case to elicit sympathy from supporters instead of looking at facts. “Let us not cheat ourselves. As a community, we ought to have two bulls. Obviously, the DP Ruto is the bigger bull, but there is nothing wrong with having either Gideon Moi or Isaac Ruto as the smaller bulls. I urge the Deputy President to calm down,” he said. Fr Kimutai observed that leaders like governors Ruto, Prof Chepkwony and Kuresoi South MP Zakayo Cheruiyot, who have been at loggerheads with the DP lately, could most likely be denied URP tickets ahead of the 2017 General Elections. “Where will they go to? They need a vehicle with which to run for office so they have the alternative of joining Kanu or setting up a new party,” he said. Mr Salat has distanced the rebranding of Kanu from Mr Ruto’s ICC case. “Kanu’s reinvention started long after the ICC case against Mr Ruto. We have been praying for Mr Ruto but still stay alive to the fact that 2017 is a political year, and as a party, we cannot sit and watch. We must plan.” Yesterday, the church leader- Political activities of both Governor Ruto and Senator Moi do not warrant any stress for DP Ruto. The Rift Valley is still William Ruto’s and my friends should know that” - Mr Franklin Bett ship sought to lower political temperatures. The bishop of the church where President Kenyatta will preside over a fundraising has warned politicians against politicking in church. Bishop Robert Langat, the head of the Africa Gospel Church, said the invitations to the President and his Deputy were made a long time ago and had nothing to do with the politics of Bomet. “I want the politicians to respect the church. Even if they feel they need to tell each other things, let us respect the church and the service,” said Dr Langat. He revealed that the plan started when Mr Kenyatta attended a service at the church’s Good Shepherd headquarters in Ngong last year. “We have had a very good relationship with President Kenyatta and the past presidents. And it was not hard for us to get Mr Kenyatta to preside at this function,” he said in a phone call to Sunday Nation. Both Governor Ruto and Kericho Senator Charles Keter also called for calm yesterday ahead of the President’s visit today. But National Assembly Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso – who Governor Ruto says is favoured by DP Ruto to wrest the governorship from him – has vowed to raise issues affecting the region like devolution and the location of the university. This is the spark local leaders fear could set off a conflagration.